Power and Region in a Multipolar Order (PRIMO)

Flickr/South African Government (CC BY-ND 2.0)

PRIMO (Power and Regions in a Multipolar Order) starts from the premise that the importance of non-western regions and certain of their leading states – notably Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the so-called BRICS states – for international politics and the world economy is rapidly growing. However, the nature of these processes, the consequences for global governance, and the material and social power dynamics of BRICS states' rise vis-à-vis international institutions and powers such as the EU and the US are far from clear. There has been a lack of specification and in-depth empirical investigation. Therefore, PRIMO studies the actions, relations, processes and mechanisms of BRICS states’ interactions, both in their own regions and with well-established powers, multilateral institutions and non-state actors. We combine theoretical approaches, a rigorous mixed research methodology, practical training, and the acquisition of substantial empirical expertise on regional and emerging powers with concrete practical career opportunities in academia or the private sector. PRIMO will allow to account for processes of identity construction, the formation of foreign policy goals, and the strategies of regional powers at the regional and global level. To accomplish these goals, PRIMO establishes a network of public and private partners that will substantially advance and expand already existing structures and collaboration by directing training towards employment opportunities in the private sector, enhancing the mobility of PhD students in and beyond Europe, and advancing the interests of a European research community in a global context.